Oil and Water
by TheBarfly001
Summary: Ripslinger tries to do the unthinkable. However, his mortal enemy wants to help him out of his situation. Will it be fruitful or fruitless?
1. Given Another Shot

Ripslinger stared at his reflection in the mirror. In it he saw a green and black suited man with long black hair stare back at him. On the table near the mirror was a Glock. "Should I do it?", he mentally asked himself, "It's my fault that my career was ruined. Dusty, if you can hear me, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for trying to kill you." He slowly picked up the gun with his left hand and pointed the barrel at the side of his head. Then he pulled the trigger. CLICK! *GASP!* No bullet came out of that barrel. His whole body started shaking as he moved the gun away. Turning it over, he pushed the button on the handle and the clip fell out as a result. Rip looked at it and was shocked at what he found. "I forgot to load it. Perhaps some other time." His hand shook violently as he dropped the gun, causing it clatter onto the floor. Then he fainted.

Rip opened his eyes and found that he was in the hospital in one of the rooms. He was on a bed, and a white gown replaced his flight suit. Then he saw a group of reporters and photographers with cameras taking pictures of him through the window. Then they turned their cameras away from him, focusing on someone else. The door opened, revealing a very young man with slightly messy orange hair. He had a black, orange and white flight suit on his body, and blue eyes to match it. The man closed the blinds of the window. He took a chair, put it next to the bed, and sat down on it. A tear came out Rip's eye, acknowledging that the man was none other than Dusty Crophopper. "Why?", Dusty simply asked him. "Why what?", Rip asked back. Dusty replied, "Why did you try to kill yourself?" "You know why!", Rip snapped, trying to scare Dusty away. This, however, did not make Dusty even budge. "No, I do not know why.", Dusty said to him. "Don't play dumb with me!", Rip snapped again. Dusty said, "I'm not."

"Fine!", Rip snapped yet again, "I'll tell you why. I had it all. Friends, hot women, money, and fame. I was so stupid and arrogant. I don't want you to feel guilty, so I'll tell you this. You were right to screw it all up for me! I deserved it! And why am I still alive?!" Dusty replied sternly, "Because you have so much left to live for." "Like what?", Rip asked him, "I tried to kill you! How can I ever live with that? Ned and Zed are in prison because of me!" "That's why I'm trying to get them out of there.", Dusty explained, "The longer they are in prison, the greater chances they have of getting killed by radical inmates." Rip was stunned at what Dusty had just said to him. Dusty continued. "They were only doing your bidding. Listen, Rip. I don't care if you tried to kill me. I know there's good in you. I can see it. I understand that for many years you were ignored by society. I was bullied in school a lot. I knew that my plane was not built for racing. The only reason I didn't qualify was because Fonzarelli used nitromethane. But that's beside the point. Right now, I want to ask you something." Rip was curious, so he leaned closer to listen.

"Would you like to come to Propwash?" Rip's eyes widened. He'd never seen this coming. "Are you kidding?!", he asked Dusty, "After what I did to you?!" "Let me finish.", Dusty said, cutting him off. Rip shut his mouth and listened. "You're out of a job, Rip. My old boss needs another pilot for the fields." Rip was stunned even more. "You mean, you want me to-" "Yes, Rip. I want you to work as a crop duster. I want you to see why aerial application is very important. So what's it gonna be?" A few moments of silence fell between them. Then Rip finally said, "Okay. When do I start?" "A week after you get out of here.", Dusty informed him, "I want you to get to know the locals first. However, I'll make sure you and Skipper stay away from each other." Rip nodded. Dusty got up from the chair and walked to the door. As he was about to open it, Rip said something that Dusty never expected. "Thank you...Dusty." Dusty stopped and turned his head to look at his rival. He half-smiled at Rip, then opened the door and exited the room. As soon as that door closed, Rip immediately started to contemplate the life-changing decision he'd just made.


	2. Several Shots Too Many

"Dusty, at first I thought you lost your mind when you wanted to become an air racer! Now you're a firefighter who wants his mortal enemy to come to his hometown! Now I think you've lost it for real this time!" Dottie was giving Dusty yet another lecture in the service station. "C'mon Dottie!", Dusty furiously protested, "I know's there's good in Rip! I can see it!" "Ripslinger tried to kill you!", Dottie argued, "You are delusional! How can you see the good in that sick son of a-?!" Dusty put a hand on her mouth, cutting her off. "Listen, Dottie!", he hissed, "Rip tried to commit suicide the other night. He felt remorseful. That means somewhere in his heart, he can find his good self. He just has to look in the right place! I can help him with that!" He let go of Dottie's indigo jumpsuit and her mouth at the same time. Immediately she started gasping for air. Dusty stormed out of the shop in anger, leaving Dottie in shock. A few minutes later, Dusty entered the bar. As he did so, he saw Ripslinger sitting at the counter. In front of him were eight shot glasses. Rip ordered a ninth glass full of scotch. Dusty walked over and knocked the glass out of his. In a drunken stupor, Rip tried to reach for it on the floor. He instead fell off the stool and passed out lying on the floor. All the other patrons just looked on as Dusty dragged Rip out of the bar.

Once outside, Dusty propped Rip against the wall as he started to wake up. "Morning, sunshine.", Dusty said sarcastically. Then a shadow crept up the wall. Dusty turned around and saw a man with a green cap, brown hair and eyes and green clothes. "Oh, hi there Chug!", Dusty greeted him. "What is he doing here?!", Chug furiously asked him, "And why are you helping him?!" "Just help me out here!", Dusty told him. Chug shook his head. "Then I'll tell Skipper it was you who was fiddling with his radio.." Chug immediately grabbed Rip and helped Dusty carry him to Dusty's hangar home. When they got there, Dusty opened the door of the hangar. In it was his airplane. The colors on it were red, white, and black, just like his suit. The pontoons had their wheels down. The propeller was black, save for the yellow tips on each of the three blades. The wings were from a Shooting Star. However the tip tanks were removed, due to the high possibility of them exploding while battling a blaze. That in turn would certainly kill Dusty. The two men carried Rip inside and laid him down on a cot, which had put by Dusty under the right wing due to excessive maintenance work. "Why are you doing this, Dusty?", Chug asked him in confusion. "Because,", Dusty responded, "I see good in him." "He tried to kill you!", Chug shot at him. "And himself.", Dusty countered. Chug was immediately surprised. Dusty continued. "He blamed himself for everything. Even if he is my mortal enemy, I still can't let another human being do harm to himself." It took a minute for Chug to let those words sink in, and when they did, he nodded in understanding. Rip groaned a little as the alcohol started to take effect, knocking him out cold. /div

Two hours later, he woke up, opening his eyes to find Sparky putting a glass of water right next to the cot. Sparky noticed this and walked away quickly, not saying a word. Though slightly disoriented, Rip could still understand why. "I guess my stupid antics affected more than just a few people.", he thought to himself, "Looks like I'll have to make up for it. I'll start by drinking this water, which certainly took up some of his time to pour for me." Rip picked up the glass and took a few small sips, then put it back down. He then turned his attention to Dusty's airplane. Rip put his hand on the cold aluminum skin of the fuselage and ran it along the length of it. He soon noticed the the cockpit window was open. After climbing onto the wing, he gently sat down inside it and looked at the instruments. He put his hand on the control stick and moved it easily. "Such a remarkable piece of engineering. And to think I actually tried to destroy it.", he whispered to himself. "Thanks for the compliment.", a voice said. Startled, Rip quickly turned his eyes towards the wing and saw Dusty standing there.


End file.
